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Viet Nam News Brian Spence, our expat financial services expert, considers some UK start-ups that have hit a valuation of US$1 billion or more in recent years – and the magic that made them. While the UK may be a relatively small country in terms of size, it punches well above its weight in terms of entrepreneurial spirit. The UK scores third globally in the OECD’s country rankings for the number of start-up businesses created (behind only the US and China). It also has far more “unicorns” than other, larger European countries – almost half in fact. As those interested in venture capital will know, a unicorn is defined as a start-up company which grows to reach a valuation of $1 billion or more. Current estimates put the number of European unicorns at 50, with 22 of these magical companies originating in the UK or based there (the number was 18 in 2016). Many of these UK unicorns are already household names; they certainly reach into every area of … [Read more...] about UK unicorns and the magic that makes them

Viet Nam News A share’s price/earnings (PE) ratio is a key way of assessing whether it is trading at fair value and therefore if it is a good buy or not. This week, our expat financial services expert Brian Spence explains why PE ratios are so important in managing your investment portfolio. It hardly needs to be said that your aim as an equities investor should be to buy low and sell high. Assessing whether a stock is trading at fair value based on its merits – or is over or under-valued – is a key part of making the right investment calls. There are a variety of ways to try to work out if a particular stock represents good value or not and price-earnings ratio is foremost among these “vital statistics”. In simple terms, a price-earnings ratio (or price multiple as it is sometimes known) shows how much an investor can expect to invest into a business in dollar terms in order to receive one dollar of that company’s earnings back. It is an … [Read more...] about PE Ratios and What They Mean for Your Portfolio

Joan Baez is musing about Donald Trump and even Hitler and what she believes is their shared lack of empathy. "Most of the weird ones have their pets," she told AFP, referring to Hitler's German Shepherd, Blondi. "But I don't think Trump could even have a dog. I don't think there is any feeling for anybody but himself and his money." "I mean Hitler wanted to rule the world. Trump wants to make money." The legendary 1960s protest singer may be on what she insists is her final tour, "Fare Thee Well," but she has no intention of going quietly. Although she spends more time these days painting than on music, her "retirement" may be more theoretical than real. "If somebody calls me to do 20 minutes at a folk festival... or to do something that supports the resistance to evil because of the political climate we're in, then I'll do it," said the 77-year-old. Baez said that standing up to Trump is far more difficult than the more straightforward battles her generation had to face. … [Read more...] about Veteran singer Joan Baez muses on Trump … and Hitler

Viet Nam News A strange situation exists in Hà Nội. There are empty buildings in one area and in many others, people live cramped and close together. The empty buildings are even falling apart. It would seem that paperwork problems are part of what has caused the delay in getting people to live in these buildings. HÀ NỘI - A number of resettlement apartment blocks have been standing deserted in the capital city for many years now. At the same time, thousands live in highly cramped, poorly maintained lodgings. A Tiền Phong (Vanguard) report lays the blame for this paradox squarely on city authorities, saying their tardiness in resolving issues related to the resettlement houses has led to this mess. Towering over the Tạ Quang Bửu Street in Hai Bà Trưng District, a 20-storeyed apartment building is hard to ignore, both for its size and the distinct lack of people who should be living there. The building, with some 150 apartments, is a resettlement project built with investment … [Read more...] about Building both full and empty in Ha Noi

People from Viet Nam and people from Japan have worked together to produce a film. The story told in the film comes from a book written by a Japanese woman who came to visit her daughter who was working in Viet Nam. The daughter thought she would stay with her for a year. However, she stayed for ten years where she had a happy life. HA NOI (VNS) — The first film produced by Viet Nam and Japan will be launched nationwide in October. The film entitled Hoa Cung Lan Gio Viet (Blowing in the Winds of Viet Nam) is based on a non-fiction book, A Granny from Echigo, Japan Comes to Live in Viet Nam by Miyuki Komatsu, who currently lives and teaches Japanese in Ha Noi. Komatsu came to Viet Nam when she was 40 years old. During her 20 years living and working in the city she often thought of her mother living alone in Japan. After her mother visited Ha Noi, she decided to live in the city with her daughter. "I expected my mother to stay in Ha Noi for a year. However, we lived together here … [Read more...] about New film made by Japan and Viet Nam